While dozens of people have died as a result of massive floods sweeping the Balkans, leaving tens of thousands displaced, a new risk has been posed by unexploded wartime landmines that are now being exposed by 3,000 landslides.

“The consequences...are terrifying,” Bosnian Foreign
Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija told a news conference on Monday.
“The physical destruction is not less than the destruction
caused by the war.”

Bosnia’s Mine Action Center warned on Monday that: “Water and
landslides have possibly moved some mines and taken away mine
warning signs,” Sasa Obradovic, a center official, told AFP.
Teams have been assessing the threat and have issued a warning to
residents.

Some 120,000 unexploded landmines were left buried in Bosnia
after the 1992-1995 Bosnian War – approximately 2.4 percent of
the Yugoslav republic is covered with both unexploded mines and
similar devices.

“They must be extremely cautious when they start cleaning
their houses, land, or gardens, as the remaining mud could hide
mines and other explosive devices brought by rivers,”
Obradovic said.

Since the war ended, around 600 people have been killed in
landmine blasts.

Record rainfall has caused catastrophic floods in Bosnia, Serbia
and parts of Croatia, killing at least 47 people. More than
one-quarter of Bosnia’s four million people have been affected.
Some 2,100 landslides were set off in Bosnia by the heavy
rainfall, while Serbia documented approximately 1,000.

While as many as 500,000 have had to evacuate their homes in
Bosnia, at least 25,000 people have left their residences in
Serbia.

"We have some indications that a half a million Bosnians have
either been evacuated or have left their homes because of
flooding or landslides," said Fahrudin Solak, the acting
head of the civil defence service in Bosnia's autonomous
Federation.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic announced an
urgent and complete evacuation of the Serbian town of Obrenovac,
located some 30 kilometers from Belgrade.

The warning came after a sharp rise in the water level of the
River Sava.

The number of deaths in the town has now risen to 13, stated
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, as reported by
Itar-Tass. “It's hard to talk about the amount of flood
damage,” he said, “but it could cost...hundreds of millions of
euros...and some say about a billion.”

Rescue services have been urging people to head to their
balconies or roofs wearing bright clothes to make themselves
visible.

“The situation is catastrophic,” Bosnia's refugee
minister, Adil Osmanovic, said on Monday as more casualties were
anticipated.